History of The Portland MegabandThe Portland Megaband has been in existence since 1996. Every year, we play a Portland Country Dance Community benefit contra dance on the second Saturday of March. In addition to that, we play a contra dance slot at the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle every other year (2016 will not be a Folklife year for the band). Every time we have played, it has gone very well--the dancers have loved it, and we musicians have had a blast. So far, we have always been able to achieve a cohesive, tight sound. The first time we played, there were 25 of us. In March 2015, we had 75 musicians and 500 dancers! The band is organized and directed by Erik Weberg and me (Sue Songer).
Who does The Megaband Benefit Dance support?The Portland Country Dance Community and the Portland Megaband sponsor a yearly benefit dance to raise funds for members of the Community. The benefit funds are available to PCDC members in the form of grants to help offset the costs of dance camps, musician camps/workshops and caller workshops. For more information about applying for a grant, contact PCDC. To the Prospective Megabander: The Megaband is an all volunteer (i.e. unpaid) contra dance band open to musicians at any level of experience on any acoustic instrument. Ability levels range from beginner to professional musician; all are equally welcome. We have been in existence since 1996. Every year, we play a Portland Country Dance Community benefit contra dance on the second Saturday of March. In addition to that, we play a contra dance slot at the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle every other year. Every time we have played, it has gone very well--the dancers have loved it, and we musicians have had a blast. So far, we have always been able to achieve a cohesive, tight sound. The first time we played, there were 25 of us. In March 2019, we had 75 musicians and nearly 500 dancers! The band is organized and directed by Erik Weberg and me (Sue Songer). You can read much more about us by visiting the Portland Megaband website at www.portlandmegaband.com. If you want to listen to recent sound clips of the band, you can find them on youtube.com or Facebook by searching under Portland Megaband 2019. Here are a couple of professionally recorded (i.e., good sound quality) clips from a while back: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prKBufX4mj0&feature=youtu.be (by Doug Plummer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXoBCxE3tjA&feature=related . (by Kim Appleberry) And here is a time lapse (by Doug Plummer) of the set up and much of the evening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fARKzM8hmw8&feature=youtu.be HOW TO SIGN UP: The above said, there is a limit on certain instruments that
are difficult to integrate into the band either due to the nature of the
instrument or staging complications. Those instruments are keyboard, bass,
hammer dulcimers, percussion, and saxes/horns. If you play one of these
instruments, you will have to wait until there is an opening in your particular
section. While you are waiting, I encourage you in the strongest of
terms to go to the local contra dances if you are not already doing so, and to
join in some of the playing opportunities listed below to get acquainted with contra
dance music and gain some experience playing it. Sue Songer
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